 Transporting patients between healthcare facilities may be stressful. Researchers from New York Medical College, in Valhalla studied whether playing music during critical care transport reduces patient anxiety. Continue reading Music to reduce anxiety during transport
Category Archives: Art, Music, Dance
Music therapy for serious mental disorders
Researchers from Unifob Health in Bergen, Norway reviewed the literature to “examine the benefits of music therapy for people with serious mental disorders.” Continue reading Music therapy for serious mental disorders
Effect of music therapy on infants
 Dr. Darcy DeLoach Walworth from Florida State University studied the effect of music therapy on premature infants’ and full term infants’ developmental responses and parents’ responsiveness. Continue reading Effect of music therapy on infants
Music during colonoscopy
 Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia reviewed the evidence. Continue reading Music during colonoscopy
CAM for procedural pain
 It’s the discomfort experienced by patients during medical procedures required to give drugs or conduct tests (eg, heel stick, circumcision, or inserting a needle in a blood vessel).
The evidence for several CAM options in infants was reviewed by researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in California. Continue reading CAM for procedural pain
CAM benefits in cancer patients
Dr. Brent Bauer (photo) who practices in the Division of General Internal Medicine and is Director of the Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program at Mayo Clinic was interviewed as part of their ongoing series of podcasts.
Here are the highpoints. Continue reading CAM benefits in cancer patients
Benefits of biofeedback in older women with urge urinary incontinence
It’s mostly in your head. Continue reading Benefits of biofeedback in older women with urge urinary incontinence
More tooth tunes? Music therapy during root canal
A while back, there was a toothbrush that played music to encourage kids to brush their teeth. That was fun.
Now, researchers from Tzu Chi University in Taiwan have studied the potential benefits of music therapy for a more serious activity — root canal treatment. Continue reading More tooth tunes? Music therapy during root canal
Music helps breathing in people with COPD
Get out your MP3 player if you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
As the researchers from the University of Hamburg state in their ivory tower way, “Auditory distraction might… serve as an intervention for the reduction of dyspnea [difficulty breathing] during exercise in this patient group.” Continue reading Music helps breathing in people with COPD
Effect of music therapy in brain surgery
 In this study, live music improved quality of life in patients receiving elective surgery of the brain. Continue reading Effect of music therapy in brain surgery
Active music engagement in kids with cancer
 Music therapy can be active or passive. In the active form, the therapist and patient are actively involved in playing music using instruments and voice. Passive music therapy is conducted with the patient at rest.
In this study, active music engagement was designed to counter the stress that confronts children with cancer while in the hospital. Continue reading Active music engagement in kids with cancer
Music to manage anxiety during palliative care
 Researchers from the Calvary Health Care Bethlehem in Melbourne, Australia studied the effectiveness of a single music therapy session in reducing anxiety among terminally ill patients. Continue reading Music to manage anxiety during palliative care
Is there a role for music in treating critical illness?
 Researchers from Boston and Munich have reviewed the effects of music on the increased rate of metabolic activity during critical illness. Continue reading Is there a role for music in treating critical illness?
Support for CBT following trauma in young people
 Many treatment options were reviewed.
The strongest evidence was for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to reduce psychological harm in children and adolescents following trauma. Continue reading Support for CBT following trauma in young people
Integrating CAM into pain management at the end of life
Dr. Perry Fine — an anesthesiologist from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City — has published an excellent review of this topic. It is essential reading for healthcare professionals as well as family and patient caregivers.
Among other issues, it provides good perspective on the role of CAM approaches to pain management in palliative care, which I have summarized here.
Continue reading Integrating CAM into pain management at the end of life
Benefits of music in kids with cancer
Researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina report on the value of music in children with leukemia receiving chemotherapy. Continue reading Benefits of music in kids with cancer
Music therapy doesn’t reduce anesthesia during surgery
A recent review concluded that among 42 studies of music therapy around the time of surgery, positive effects on reducing anxiety and pain were reported in about half.
Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and Children’s Medical Center at Dallas looked for changes in the amount of inhaled anesthetic needed during surgery in adult patients exposed to music. Continue reading Music therapy doesn’t reduce anesthesia during surgery
Music helps cast broken bones in children
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio report that playing soft music in the cast room decreases anxiety in young children who require placement or removal of a cast on a broken bone. Continue reading Music helps cast broken bones in children
“Hip-Hop” Stroke
Teaching children to recognize stroke. Continue reading “Hip-Hop” Stroke
CAM in hospice care
If the state of Washington is any indication, CAM therapies play a significant role in hospice care.
Survey results presented during the North American Research Conference on Complementary & Integrative Medicine reveal that more than a dozen different CAM therapies are offered through hospice care in Washington, with massage, music therapy, and energy healing used most often.